Hoisting means for handling and lifting objects, such as timer stacked to form load units

ABSTRACT

A hoisting arrangement for use with hoisting cranes for handling and lifting loads which are held together by two separate wires includes a support unit which has gripping members with at least four lifting heads arranged iin pairs and each provided with a single gripping member. The gripping members are movable in the longitudinal and in the transverse directions of the support unit, and are caused, when the load is gripped, to slide against the load in opposite directions in the longitudinal direction of the support unit in order to grip in pairs under one wire each, and thereafter to move in pairs outwardly away from each other in the transverse direction to the support unit towards the sides of the load.

nited States Patent. 1 [11] 3,

Striimbeck Feb. 25, 1975 [54] HOISTING MEANS FOR HANDLING AND 3,438,521 4/1969 Munck 294/74 3,493,259 2/1970 Morgan 294/74 LIFTING OBJECTS, SUCH AS TIMER STACKED TO FORM LOAD UNITS [75] Inventor: Per Albin Striimbeck, Lindome,

Sweden [73] Assignee: AB Hagglund & Soner,

Ornskoldsvik, Sweden [22] Filed: Nov. 12, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 414,962

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Nov. 21, 1972 Sweden 15088/72 [52] US. Cl. 294/74, 294/78 [51] Int. Cl. B66c 1/62 [58] Field of Search 294/78, 72, 67, 2, 81

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,413,027 11/1968 Bohlin et al. 294/74 Primary Examiner-James B. Marbert [57] ABSTRACT A hoisting arrangement for use with hoisting cranes for handling and lifting loads which are held together by two separate wires includes a support unit which has gripping members with at least four lifting heads arranged iin pairs and each provided with a single gripping member. The gripping members are movable in the longitudinal and in the transverse directions of the support unit, and are caused, when the load is gripped, to slide against the load in opposite directions in the longitudinal direction of the support unit in order to grip in pairs under one wire each, and thereafter to move in pairs outwardly away from each other in the transverse direction to the support unit towards the sides of the load.

10 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures HOISTING MEANS FOR HANDLING AND LIFTING OBJECTS, SUCH AS TIMER STACKED TO FORM LOAD UNITS The present invention relates to a hoisting means, preferably for use with hoisting cranes or the like for handling and lifting objects such as load units consisting of stacked timber held together by wire, for example, comprising support units having gripping members carried by the lifting yoke or corresponding part of the crane.

THE PRIOR ART It is known that for loading bundles of timber, for example, on and off ships lashing lines or wires are used to a great extent. This method is time-consuming, neither does it permit such convenient and economic handling as is to be desired.

It is also known that in an attempt to handle timber loads more efficiently, beam frames are used into which one or several bundles are placed and the frames are clamped with chaims. Otherwise chains may be used on their own. The hoisting means for these loads consists of a magnetic unit which first lifts the chains and, when these are a certain distance from the upper surface of the load, gripping claws are inserted. The drawback with this arrangement is the time-consuming work required and also the not inconsiderable cost of the frames and chains.

It is also known to use special steel strips around the timber bundles and then lift these with a hoisting means, but this is expensive since the strips are tempered and cost about twice as much as ordinary wire lashing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention aims at eliminating these drawbacks and providing a means which fulfils the requirement for rapid loading and unloading and which can be used without manual intervention when the load is being picked up or released. The invention is based on hoisting means for load units where, for example, two or more small stacks of timber are piled on top of each other, and of the type held together by lashing, for example wire lashing, surrounding the load unit.

The special features and advantages of the invention include a support unit which has gripping members and is provided with at least four lifting heads arranged in pairs with each lifting head provided with a single gripping member. The gripping members are mounted for movement in the longitudinal and transverse directions of the support unit, and means are provided to cause the gripping members, when the load is gripped, to slide against the load in opposite directions in the longitudinal direction of the support unit to grip in pairs under one wiring each, and thereafter to move outwardly away from each other in the transverse direction of the support unit towards the sides of the load.

Each pair of the lifting heads forms a gripping unit, which is fixed in the longitudinal direction of the support unit, whereas the gripping heads are movably arranged in the lifting heads and are mounted for longitudinal movement with respect to the support unit. The two lifting heads of each gripping unit are movable in the transverse direction of the support unit with respect to each other by guiding and operating members.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be further, exemplified by the following detailed description of the examples of the preferred embodiments with respect to the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 shows a frontal view of the hoisting means FIG. 2 shows an end view of the hoisting means FIG. 3 is a view from above of the lifting means FIG. 4 is a partial view, partly in section, of a gripping unit seen from above,

FIG. 5 is a side view, partly in section, showing the lifting heads and linkage of the pantograph type included in a gripping unit, direction I-I in FIG. 4,

FIG. 6 is a partial view, partly in section, of a gripping mechanism, direction lIII in Flg. 3

FIG. 7 is a partial section in the direction IIIIII in FIG. 6

FIG. 8 is a view of the gripping member, seen from the direction IV-IV in FIG. 6,

FIG. 9 is a section through the gripping member, seen from the direction VV in FIG. 8,

FIGS. 10 show examples of wire lashing around load units.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT It is not so efficient to lift one load unit as it is to lift, for example two units and for this reason the embodiment of the hoisting means described here by way of example has been designed for two load units (see FIG. 10 b).

FIGS. 1 and 2 show front and end views, respectively of the hoisting means and FIG. 3 shows the means from above. The hoisting means which as a whole is designated 10, consists of four gripping units, each generally designated 11, which are carried in pairs by a support unit 14 through double pairs of links I2, 13. Through holes 15 made in the support unit 14, it can be connected to a hoisting crane yoke 16.

Each pair of links 12, 13 is pivoted at its mid-point and in a balance system moving in a vertical plane, on shafts l7 and 18, respectively, in a fixture 19 arranged in the support unit l4. At the outer ends of each double pair of levers 12, 13, two gripping units 11 are suspended through jointed shafts 20 and 21, respectively, and journalled in a parallelogram system so that the lower side of the gripping units 11 always moves parallel in a vertical direction even if the loads are different. The hoisting means also includes a combined electrichydraulic system and in FIGS. 1 and 2 an oil tank with pump a unit is designated 22, a box for electrical units 23 and a box for hydraulic units 24.

Two load units of timber 25, 25' lashed with wire 26 are shown schematically below the hoisting means. The gripping members 27 belonging to the gripping units 11 are inserted under the wire on the upper side of the load.

FIG. 4 shows a gripping unit 11 seen from above and FIG. 5 is a view of the unit seen from the direction I-I ing the gripping process prior to lifting the load, a doubleoperating auxiliary cylinder 32 is arranged between one lifting head, 28 and the lifting yoke 29 and;positioned between the main cylinders 31. The lifting yoke 29 isprovided with two bottom plates 29 a, 2% to rest on the load to be lifted. The links 30Iare suspended at 1 their inner, upper ends on stationary pins 33 in the lifta FIG. 3, partly in section, of a gripping mechanism, generally designated 40, which is included in each lifting head 28, 28'. FIG. 7 is a partial section in the. direction lll-lll in FIG. 6,-but excluding a number of details which are, already clear from FIG. 6. The gripping member mechanism 40 comprises a first and: a second double operating displacement cylinder 41 and 42, respectively, the cylinder housings being connected, by spacing elements 43, 44. The piston rod of the first cylinder 41 is movably connected by a first journalling bolt 45 to a journalling yoke 46 secured in an end strip 28 a belonging to one lifting head 28 and the piston rod of the other cylinder 42 is swivelled to a second journalling bolt 47' to a second journalling yoke 48 secured to a trolley 49 which, in order'to achieve parallel longitudinal displacement simultaneously with the cylinders, is provided with two guide sleeves 50 running in guides 51 provided for the second cylinder and also attached in the first spacer element 43. The guides 51 lie in the same horizontal plane, one on each side of the cylinder 42. The trolley 49 is provided with rollers 52 and its path of movement is between guide rails 53, 54' attached inside the longitudinal frame sides of the lifting head 28, 28'. The total distance travelled corresponds to the sum of the stroke lengths of the first and second cylinder 56 which'activates a firstlever 57 which is in fitted on one leg of the holder 55. A screw 72 is provided on: the indic'atingarm 68 to adjust theswitch'ing 7 position of the limit switch 71. V

In one version, not shown, the double operating displacement cylinders 41, 42 are replaced by one telescopic cylinder operating in each direction of movement, these covering the. same distance for the trolley 49 as the cylinders 41, 42 together. v 7

FIG. 8 and the section FIG. 9 show a preferred version of the gripping member 27. In order to facilitate insertion of the gripping member 27 under thewire lashing ifthis is very tight and, for example, in direct contact with a raised plank just where the, gripping member should grip, it is provided with a bevelled tongue 74, pivotable in vertical direction about a horizontal shaft 73. The tongue 74 is spring-loaded with a.

flat spring 75 indicated in broken lines in FIG. 9, di-

rected slightly downwards, a

The operation of the hoisting meanswill now be de? scribed with reference to the figures 'mentionedso far and alsoto FIGS. 10a to 100. FIG. 10 a shows a load unit 25 comprising two bundles of timber, lashedvwith wire 26. FIG. 10b shows two load units 25, 25' placed next to eachother ready to be gripped by the hoisting means 10. In order to facilitate the gripping process'for the members 27, small spacerblocks 76 may be placed in the corners of the loadunits 25, 25, see .FIG. 10 c,

underneath the wire 26 so that a small space is obtained between the load andthe wire 26 onthe upper side of the load unit. V

When the load units 25, 25" are tobe lifted the hoisting means 10 is in the posit-ion shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The gripping members 27 are in the retracted position A, see FIG. 6, in the trolley 49 and are therefore in the same plane as the bottom plates 29 a and29 b of the lifting yokes 29, or slightly higher. The gripping members 27 are retracted in the horizontal plane both in the transverse and longitudinal directions of the load unit.

Upon an operating impulse from the crane operator,

hydraulic pressure is supplied to all operating cylinders 56 in the hoisting means l0'so that the gripping members 27, are lowered by the links and levers 57, 60, 61 V to positionB in FIG. 6, Le. into contact with the load.

25, 25'. Oil pressure is then automatically supplied to the first and second displacement cylinders 41, 42 so 7 that, due to the movement of the, trolley 49the gripping turn movably joined to a second lever 61 in order to achieve parallel movement in a vertical direction of the gripping member 27 through two link shafts 58,59 and a link 60.:The two levers 57, 61 pivot about shafts 62 and 63, respectively arranged. in the trolley '49. The

movement of the levers 57,61 is transmitted to the I members 27 are brought out in the longitudinal direction of the load units 25, 25', seen from the middle, and in under the wire lashing 26,this being facilitated by the downwardly directed tongue 74.'When the'gripping members 27have reached the position where the wire lashing 26-is in the innerpocket 77' of the gripping holder by way ofjournalling elements 64 and65, re-

spectively, arranged therein. The gripping member 27 can be raised or lowered in order to deal with any unthe activating boss 69 a correct starting position in the gripping'mem ber 27 it is provided with an oval aperture 1 70. The purpose of the indicating arm 68 will be described later, but it should-influence a limit switch, 71

member, the wire 26 makes contact with the activating boss 69 on the activating arm- 68, thus activating the limit switch 71 which in'turn emits an impulseto discontinue operation of the displacement cylinders 41,

42 and thus stop the longitudinal movement of the gripping member 27. At the same time an impulse is sent by the limit switch .71 to the operating cylinder 56 so that the gripping member 27 is drawn into thetrolley 49 and assumes. position A in FIG. 6. The wire lashings 26 are therefore. drawn to slightly and, if the load units 25, 25 are encased in plastic, this is not damaged when, after the gripping members 27 have been drawn up, the main cylinders 31 are suppliedwith oil pressure to part the lifting heads 28,28, thus moving the gripping members 27 outwardly fromthe middle of the load unit in the transverse direction of the load 25, 25'. The gripping units 11 and the gripping members 27 included therein have now achieved a firm grip in the load 25, 25'. The auxiliary cylinders 32 have no function during the actual separating movement of the main cylinders 31, but as soon as these have assumed their outer positions, the auxiliary cylinders 32 provide an extra locking means, i.e. they block the hydraulic cylinders 31 so that the links 30 maintain their extended positions and self-holding is obtained. The load 25, 25 can now be lifted, assuming that all limit switches 69 in the hoisting means are correctly activated. During the lifting process the hoisting means 10 is slightly loosened from the load 25, due to the weight of the load. The reason for the gripping members 27 being moved out to the edges of the load'25, 25 is that there is then less strain on the wire 26, giving the advantage that both material and costs of the wire can be reduced.

The release process is the reverse of the gripping process. The hoisting means 10 described here is also suitable for lifting only one load unit 25 if, for example, the space where the load istobe placed is limited.

The hoisting means above enables loads to be handled without any manual intervention at the actual load. The crane operator can himself perform the loading and unloading work. In, for example, bridge or gantry cranes having several cable arrangements to the load spreader, the load can be very easily gripped if it is aligned in the same direction as the hoisting means. Otherwise, a so-called load turner may be introduced in the spreader section.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and illustrated in the drawings but may be altered as to details without departing from the basic idea of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Hoisting means for use with hoisting cranes or the like for handling and lifting objects in the form of load units (25) of the type which is held together by two separate wirings (26), said means comprising a support unit 14) adapted to be carried by the crane and having gripping members (27), said support unit (14) being provided with at least four lifting heads (28,28') arranged in pairs, each lifting head being provided with a single gripping member (27), means mounting said gripping members for movement in the longitudinal and transverse directions of the support unit to cause said gripping members, when the load is gripped, to slide against the load in opposite directions in the longitudinal direction of the support unit in order to grip in pairs under one wiring end, and means thereafter to move the gripping members in pairs outwardly away from each other in the transverse direction of the support unit towards the sides of the load.

2. Hoisting means according to claim 1, each pair of said lifting heads (28,28') forming gripping units (11) which are fixed in the longitudinal direction of the support unit, and means mounting thegrippinng members (27) in the lifting heads for movement in the longitudinal direction of the support unit, and means mounting the two lifting heads within each gripping unit for movement with respect to each other in the transverse direction of the support unit comprising guiding and operating members (30 and 31, 32, respectively).

3. Hoisting means according to claim 2, means attaching said guiding members (30) for the two lifting heads in one gripping unit (11) in a central section (29) in the gripping unit and there being operating members (31) for the mutual displacement of the lifting heads and an operating member (32) for securing the lifting heads with respect to said central section.

4. Hoisting means according to claim 2 for simultaneous hoisting of two adjacently placed load units, in which the mounting means for the gripping units (11) comprises a double pair of balancing links (12,13) arranged in a parallelogram system and means mounting the links for movement of the lower sides of the gripping units (ll) parallel to each other in the vertical direction for different levels of the upper side of the loads (25, 25).

5. Hoisting means according to claim 1, means mounting each gripping member (27) to be raisable and lowerable, said mounting means comprising a trolley (49) in the lifting head (28), which trolley is movable in the lifting head in the longitudinal direction of the support unit (14).

6. Hoisting means according to claim 5, means for moving each gripping member 27) before gripping to its lowermost position (position B in FIG. 6) and for thereafter inserting it under the wiring (26) in the middle of the load unit (25,25).

7. Hoisting means according to claim 1, in which each gripping member (27) comprises a horizontal arm directed in the longitudinal direction of the support unit (14) and the front end of which, to facilitate inserting it under the wiring (26), is shaped as a tongue (74) bevelled on the upper side.

8. Hoisting means according to claim 7, in which said tongue (74) is mounted to rotate around a horizontal axis (73) on said arm.

9. Hoisting means according to claim 7, including a limit switch (71) with an associated operating member (69) influenced by the wiring (26) at the rear end of said horizontal arm, and means to interrupt the movement of the gripping member (27) in the longitudinal direction of the support unit when the wiring makes contact with said operating member.

10. Hoisting means according to claim 9, including a plurality of limit switches (71) in the hoisting means coordinated in such a way that the object can only be lifted when all the limit switches have been activated. l l 

1. Hoisting means for use with hoisting cranes or the like for handling and lifting objects in the form of load units (25) of the type which is held together by two separate wirings (26), said means comprising a support unit (14) adapted to be carried by the crane and having gripping members (27), said support unit (14) being provided with at least four lifting heads (28,28'') arranged in pairs, each lifting head being provided with a single gripping member (27), means mounting said gripping members for movement in the longitudinal and transverse directions of the support unit to cause said gripping members, when the load is gripped, to slide against the load in opposite directions in the longitudinal direction of the support unit in order to grip in pairs under one wiring end, and means thereafter to move the gripping members in pairs outwardly away from each other in the transverse direction of the support unit towards the sides of the load.
 2. Hoisting means according to claim 1, each pair of said lifting heads (28,28'') forming gripping units (11) which are fixed in the longitudinal direction of the support unit, and means mounting the grippinng members (27) in the lifting heads for movement in the longitudinal direction of the support unit, and means mounting the two lifting heads within each gripping unit for movement with respect to each other in the transverse direction of the support unit comprising guiding and operating members (30 and 31, 32, respectively).
 3. Hoisting means according to claim 2, means attaching said guiding members (30) for the two lifting heads in one gripping unit (11) in a central section (29) in the gripping unit and there being operating members (31) for the mutual displacement of the lifting heads and an operating member (32) for securing the lifting heads with respect to said central section.
 4. Hoisting means according to claim 2 for simultaneous hoisting of two adjacently placed load units, in which the mounting means for the gripping units (11) comprises a double pair of balancing links (12,13) arranged in a parallelogram system and means mounting the links for movement of the lower sides of the gripping units (11) parallel to each other in the vertical direction for different levels of the upper side of the loads (25, 25'').
 5. Hoisting means according to claim 1, means mounting each gripping member (27) to be raisable and lowerable, said mounting means comprising a trolley (49) in the lifting head (28), which trolley is movable in the lifting head in the longitudinal direction of the support unit (14).
 6. Hoisting means according to claim 5, means for moving each gripping member (27) before gripping to its lowermost position (position B in FIG. 6) and for thereafter inserting it under the wiring (26) in the middle of the load unit (25,25'').
 7. Hoisting means according to claim 1, in which each gripping member (27) comprises a horizontal arm directed in the longitudinal direction of the support unit (14) and the front end of which, to facilitate inserting it under the wiring (26), is shaped as a tongue (74) bevelled on the upper side.
 8. Hoisting means according to claim 7, in which said tongue (74) is mounted to rotate around a horizontal axis (73) on said arm.
 9. Hoisting means according to claim 7, including a limit switch (71) with an associated operating member (69) influenced by the wiring (26) aT the rear end of said horizontal arm, and means to interrupt the movement of the gripping member (27) in the longitudinal direction of the support unit when the wiring makes contact with said operating member.
 10. Hoisting means according to claim 9, including a plurality of limit switches (71) in the hoisting means coordinated in such a way that the object can only be lifted when all the limit switches have been activated. 